Yoann Manuel Rosas has only been the captain for the men’s soccer team this semester but he has been playing for as long as he could remember.

He was raised in Honduras, where he mastered his playing skills by playing all day. He had a passion to play soccer and nothing stopped him from playing, whether the field was made of rocks or fake grass. He was still down to play.

Rosas came to Skyline with the intention of joining the soccer team. He started out playing center-back but eventually came to terms with the fact that he is a striker and considered that his main position for the team. He knew how to play but he had troubles understanding the rules of the game since his mind-set was always “street rules.”

“I had no idea on how to play by formation so it was pretty tough in 2011. It was totally different from how I learned to play, like man-on-man. Coach Link taught me valuable advice on how to improve basic skills such as controlling and passing the ball, how to shield or shake it, when to make a move,” Rosas said. “As a forward, I was always caught off-sides but Coach [Daniel] Link always told me what to do in those situations. He’s a tough guy and treats every player with the same attitude. He always pushes us. He doesn’t want anyone standing, he tells us to keep moving, move forward, apply pressure. He is a great coach.”

He took the advice from his coach to master his playing skills.

Unfortunately, Rosas injured his left knee by tearing his ACL during the beginning of his first season. He was upset and eager to return to the field so he did his best to recuperate. During Rosas’ healing process, he taught himself to play with his left foot so he wouldn’t have to rely on his injured side as much. As an ambidextrous striker, he became center-forward and played a very important role in attacking.

“I just wanna know how my team is because I want my team to win. The amount of goals I make is irrelevant,” Rosas said. “As center, I play with probability. If I’m open and someone else has the ball, they already know I’m ready and they pass it to me. If I have the ball and ready to shoot but I see someone else has a bigger chance to score, I pass it to them. That’s how I play with my team.”

“He is a great player,” Emmanuel Hernandez said, who plays as center-back and is teammates with Rosas. “We play very well together and he has definitely done his part in unifying the team.”

Rosas is known for being a humble player in many aspects but was really shy in the beginning and so was lacking in his communication skills– he was known for “talking with his foot,” as Rosas would say. To overcome this obstacle, Coach Link made him team captain this semester.

“As a captain, you assume the role as a leader,” Rosas said. “So you must keep strong communication with your team.”

Rosas was excited for being captain but was initially nervous. Within time, he did an excellent job unifying his team as well as improve his communication skills.

Coach Link has been proud of Rosas’ improvement and is honored to express how the team has been since Rosas first joined.

“He goes to work then school then to practice and is always the first one in the field and the last one to leave,” Link said. “Yoann truly gives his team 100%. He is very supportive of his teammates and does not expect any praises from me or his teammates.

He deserves being captain and I am glad that he has been in our team, he has brought nothing but great things our way.”

He plans on graduating from Skyline next fall with an Associate’s Degree in Math. For his personal interests, he would like to transfer to a school that is part of the NCAA’s Division I and continue playing soccer there.

Division I of the NCAA is the highest level of collegiate athletics in the country.

Rosas did mention that the team needs more school spirit. He understands that everyone has their own schedules they are committed to but some school spirit would definitely motivate the players even more and make the games more exciting.

The Trojans soccer team have two remaining home games on the season. The next one is Oct. 29 vs Las Positas College at 1 p.m. and the last home game is Nov. 15 vs West Valley College and that starts at 2 p.m. Hopefully more students make some time to support our team.